Meeting: When David and Samantha Cameron arrived at the Old Billingsgate in London last year, they were whisked up to a private room for drinks with esteemed guests

As they arrived at the Conservative Summer Party, the most lavish event in the political calendar, some of the guests dissolved into fits of laughter.

The cause of the hilarity? A bronze bust which was to be the highlight of the auction at the party at the fashionable Old Billingsgate Market in the City of London.

As Home Secretary Theresa May, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles held court, there was much waspish chatter over the cocktails about who the bust was supposed to be.

In fact it was David Cameron, as the guests well knew. It had been sculpted by the Lebanese-born Harley Street surgeon Nadey Hakim, a long-time party supporter.

But at the auction, at last year’s June party, there were initially no takers for the bust, valued by Mr Hakim at £12,000.

After what seemed an eternity, one of the richest men present finally intervened to spare the Prime Minister’s blushes.

Alexander Temerko, a Russian-born British businessman, paid an astonishing £90,000 for the bust. He liked it so much he promptly donated it to the Carlton Club, the bastion of the Conservative establishment in London’s St James’s. It is now ensconced in a corridor.

One diner, who paid £12,000 for his table for a dozen guests, said: ‘The auctions are always hideously boring but this was a hoot as people began chuckling out loud as the Christie’s auctioneer tried in vain to shift the bronze.

‘There was a cheer when the Russian bought it but no one on my table could understand why anyone would want it.’

As for the Prime Minister, he was so relieved he raced over to Mr Temerko, who was on a table hosted by Eric Pickles, and slapped him enthusiastically on the back.

Mr Temerko is a regular fixture on the Tory fundraising circuit. He has given either personally, or through his wind turbine farm company Offshore Group Newcastle, £348,000 since February 2012.

As the guests took their places, on tables named after the 40 marginal seats the Tories have to win, it became clear why they will go into the next General Election campaign with millions more than the Labour Party.

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The total wealth of the guests – who included six billionaires and 15 worth more than £100million – was £11billion.

The majority of the wealthiest guests came from the property and banking sectors but there is now an increasing number of multi-millionaires like Mr Temerko, who made their fortune after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Conversation: The likes of Theresa May (left) and Eric Pickles (right) held court over cocktails while other guests discussed a bust, the highest priced item at the auction

Rich: The total wealth of the guests at the Old Billingsgate Club in London - who included six billionaires and 15 worth more than £100million - was £11billion

In keeping with Cameron’s modern brand of conservatism, men were encouraged not to wear ties. There was not a long dress in sight.

On his arrival the Prime Minister, in a plain blue suit, and his wife Samantha, in a dress by Serbian designer Roksanda Illinic, had been whisked into a closed upstairs room.

They were entertained for 40 minutes to private drinks by the City financier Howard Shore who has given £450,000, and his wife Andree who was on the organising committee. Mr Shore’s firm Shore Capital sponsored the party. Also present were Darko Horvat, a Slovenian financier, and Nicholas Berggruen, a billionaire investor, art collector and philanthropist. Lord Feldman, a friend of Cameron’s from Oxford, who is joint chairman of the Tory Party with responsibility for fundraising, was a constant presence by the PM’s side.

‘This was the really serious money and this was their chance to have the undivided attention of the Prime Minister,’ says one Tory source. ‘There were only about 20 in the room including Dave and Samantha. No one mentions money but it’s clear to everyone why they are there.’

Shortly before dinner, the PM and his party returned downstairs to join the 459 guests to a polite smattering of applause.

Thousands of pounds had been spent on
elaborate table arrangements of delphiniums and lupins so tall they
obscured some of the diners’ view of the people opposite them.

Champagne
was off the menu in a nod to the age of austerity but there was no such
restraint evident in the ticket prices which ranged from £400 to
£1,000.

After a starter of
smoked trout, Cameron gave a speech for just over 10 minutes, and the
room erupted in sustained applause when he paid a warm tribute to
Baroness Thatcher who had died two months earlier.

Known as the 'homeless billionaire', Nicolas Berggruen is famous for not having a home despite his vast wealth. The 52-year-old founder and president of Berggruen Holdings, a private investment company, was seated very near to the Prime Minister at last summer's glittering Tory fundraising dinner

‘Some of the guests were in tears,’ said one diner. ‘There was a huge roar of applause. It was the only time the room got going.’

After a main course of pan-fried guinea fowl stuffed with herbs and mascarpone the Prime Minister and Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, toured the tables.

‘You knew which table Boris was at because of the noise and laughter,’ says one senior MP. ‘Cameron carries his office on his shoulders while Boris exudes warmth, wit and personality. It was obvious to everyone, including Cameron’s table, who is the biggest draw.’

When Johnson returned to his table (after the Prime Minister had returned to his) he was clapped and cheered, taking his seat next to Andrey Borodin, a Russian financier wanted in Moscow in connection with allegations (which he denies) of a £220million fraud. He has been given political asylum in Britain.

He was also next to the Finnish-born billionaire property developer Poju Zabludowicz who gave money to Cameron’s leadership campaign in 2005. He lives with his wife Anita in neighbouring ‘his’ and ‘her’ mansions on a north London street dubbed Billionaires’ Row. It may explain why Johnson was locked in conversation with the couple for so long.

One minister said: ‘It was dreary but we are on a three-line whip to go because the donors want to see us. Our tickets are paid for as we can’t afford those prices. Even if we could, we wouldn’t unless we had to because the dinners are an absolute chore. It’s too crowded, it’s too noisy, and the auction goes on for ever.’